Range Misugi’s artistic practice draws on his own experience as an art educator, taking “painting instruction” and “art history” as recurring themes and conceptual frameworks. His work is rooted in the questions that arise while teaching art to students at schools and in painting classes—questions such as “What is art?”—as well as in the contradictions he encounters between his roles as an artist and an educator.

In his work Drawing with the Voice, for example, Misugi presents the voice he uses when teaching painting as the work itself. The words he speaks in the act of instruction reveal the persistent tension between art and education, a tension that lies at the core of his practice.

His One Thousand Buddhas Project is an ongoing art project developed in temporary housing communities for people affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake. The work is composed of charcoal drawings of Buddhist images made by the residents themselves.

Misugi’s practice extends beyond the confines of the art world and engages directly with society. In this respect, I believe he deserves particular attention as a contemporary artist who has been at the forefront of exploring how art can be practiced within a broader social context.

​

Hibiki Tsuge
Art Journalist